A prior art support structure for a vibrator is shown, for example, in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). This prior art support structure supports a vibrator 5 which includes two drive piezoelectric elements 2 and 3 and a feedback piezoelectric element 4 adhered to the three side surfaces, respectively, of a vibrator body 1 having a triangular shaped lateral cross-section. The support structure includes two filaments 6 and 7 used for support which are connected to vibrator body 1 at positions that correspond to two nodal points of the vibrator 5 along the ridgeline of the two side surfaces of the vibrator body 1 to which drive piezoelectric elements 2 and 3 are adhered. This vibrator 5 flexibly vibrates in directions at right angles to the side surface to which feedback piezoelectric element 4 is adhered by means of applying a drive a.c. voltage to drive piezoelectric elements 2 and 3.
With the prior art support structure of this sort, the distance between the points of connection of the two support filaments 6 and 7 to vibrator body 1 varies because of the flexural vibration in vibrator 5. Thus, flexural deformations arise in filaments 6 and 7 which tend to damp the vibration of vibrator 5. That is, vibrator 5 produces flexural vibrations as 5 illustrated in FIG. 2(a). As depicted, the distance 1 between the support points in the state of rest is stretched to the distances 1.sub.a and 1.sub.b during vibration so that deformations occur in filaments 6 and 7 as shown by the broken lines in FIG. 2(b).
With this prior art technology, the vibrator 5 is supported by suspension because the two support filaments 6 and 7 are connected at the ridgeline. Thus, when a horizontal vibration acts on vibrator 5 as an external force in the directions of arrows 8 (as shown by the end view in FIG. 3), the vibrator 5 tends to swing like a pendulum in the directions of arrows 9 about a center line between the support points on filaments 6 and 7. Consequently, a problem arises when this vibrator 5 is used as a vibration gyro in that its swinging motion is mistakenly detected as a rotation motion.
An object of this invention is to provide a support structure for a vibrator which is capable of effectively preventing damping of the vibration of the vibrator, and which is capable of satisfactorily eliminating any concern over mistaken detections.